Boxing:
• Did you want the fitness benefits of boxing without the concussions? Try 9 Round. This is an international phenomenon with many locations in Louisville. My wife just began her membership and LOVES it. 27 minutes (9 three minute rounds) of intense exercise, but the time flies by. You can get a little aggression out and burn some calories. You pay a monthly fee and can workout anytime.
Sitting:
• Try to avoid sitting longer than 50 minutes at a time. When you must sit, here is another article, from NPR on how to best position yourself. Move to the edge of the chair so your feet can be flat on the floor. You might want to place something behind you, or even a wedge under you. The goal is to tilt your pelvis forward – think of pouring liquid from a cup. Esther Gokhale makes an appearance in this article, showing us how to sit in a car.
Couples:
• Married people enjoy many benefits in life related to health and longevity. Sadly, many resources on marriage provide advice on how to pull a struggling marriage up. This is similar to psychology focusing on mental illness until the positive psychology movement of the early 2000s. And of course medicine in general still being focused on disease rather than health optimization.
• One marriage researcher who has focused more on the positives is John Gottman. He provided simple features of the couples who have successful marriages. This all adds up to 5 hours per week. These are adapted from Martin Seligman’s book Authentic Happiness.
1. AM: find out one thing your partner is doing that day
2. PM: at the end of the workday, have a “low stress reunion conversation”
3. Affection: physical affection (at least) a few minutes a day
4. One weekly date: (2 hours), one on one
5. Admiration and appreciation: at least once a day
Lavender:
• Many have heard of the association of lavender with sleep. But what about the benefits of lavender oil / aroma on cognition, stress, anxiety, depression, and even EEG readings. Check out lavender neck pillows, some you heat up in the microwave (make great Christmas gifts). Or buy the oil and diffuse it or just apply to skin.
• The article above covers safety, with the worst finding of possible hormonal effects in children, so if you try a pure oil, use in moderation.
Mitochondria:
• These little organelles are so hot right now. Exercise, fasting, cold exposure, and low carb diets might all increase your mitochondria in number and efficiency. But this NYTimes article covers the use of mitochondrial transplant in infants who suffer heart attacks. Data in pigs is convincing.
• Quote: “He injected a billion mitochondria, in about a quarter of a teaspoon of fluid. Within two days, the baby had a normal heart, strong and beating quickly. “It was amazing,” Dr. Emani said”
• This treatment is evolving rapidly, and likely could apply to adults who have suffered heart attacks. Here is a link with methods to get your own mitochondria fired up.
Quote:
“Medicine is a practice that has healing as its good…When these practices brush up against the free market, their internal goods become subordinated to the bottom line.”
– Martin Seligman
